4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Michael says: This film has arrived with perhaps a bit too much fanfare and—as a consequence—might prove disappointing to some, though its sensitivity to the plight of women in Eastern Europe is sober and respectful. Basically, men are jerks and sisters are doing it for themselves.

Alexandra
Michael says: An acting tour de force for the main character. A mother's protest against war.

Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who
Mack says: This is exactly what you want with a film about the band. It’s comprehensive. It’s entertaining. That’s pretty much it though. 6/10

The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Todd says: Beautifully shot, poetic in its editing and anchored by a stellar cast from top to bottom. Too quiet and too long to become the blockbuster success it deserves to be. 8.5 / 10

The Band's Visit
Michael says: A humanistic view of an Egyptian orchestra's haphazard presence in Israel. A crowd pleaser for being pitched at the heart.

The Banishment
Kurt says: As austere as his debut feature, Andrey Zvyagintsev's follow-up to The Return has a much longer run-time, and relies on a few convenient plot points, but it's a knock-out in the dark, deliberate style department. 7/10

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Kurt says: A noir-ish crime-gone-horribly-bad film with the catch that everything is contained within a single family. Sidney Lumet still has it, as this film delivers drama, suspense and a compelling collection of despicable characters caught in a web of their own weaving. 9/10

Blind
Michael says: Conventional love story heightened by beautiful lensing and crisp retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen."

Blood Brothers
Todd says: Full marks on the technical end – this thing is beautiful to look at – but the film struggles to build and maintain momentum and I’m really not sure why. 6/10

Mack says: Technically, Alexi Tan is in a good place. It’s just too bad that the themes and story couldn’t help but ring familiar tunes. 5

Captain Mike Across America
Todd says: A shockingly self-absorbed piece from Michael Moore, concerned only with stroking his own ego. Only worthwhile bits are the live performances by Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle and Tom Morello. 3/10

Cassandra’s Dream
Mack says: A thriller by the rules. Allen’s film plays it safe and never really stretches the limits of the genre. 4/10

Les Chansons d'amour
Michael says: I walked out of this derivative piece. Thoroughly ingenuine. And the songs weren't that interesting. A sorry follow-up to Dans Paris.

Chaos
Michael says: Melodramatic hype proves that if people rise up in righteous indignation they can fight corruption. In other words: do the Egyptian.

Chrysalis
Todd says: An icy cold sci-fi noir it maintains an emotional distance that puts some off but that I think is perfect for the genre. Stunning art direction and flawless CGI combine to create a totally believable near-future. The major flaw is one significant plot jump towards the end. 8/10

Mack says: Honorable mention has to go to Julien Leclercq for brining Krav Maga, the Israeli martial art to the big screen. Its efficiency and brutality needs to be noted. Praise also has to go to Leclercq as his debut film is a worthy futuristic thriller with themes of identity and connections with memories. How is it that a first time French director can film better action scenes than veteran American contemporaries? 7/10

Kurt says: A spectacular technical demo of both set design and camera savvy. Vicious fights and iconic images are not enough to sustain a film not as full of ideas as it would like to be. Looking forward to see what LeClercq does next though. 6/10

Cochochi
Michael says: Like Munyurangabo, this film has a grassroots aesthetic that provides an organic unity to this purely simple story about two boys looking for a lost horse and finding themselves in the interim.

Control
Todd says: The Ian Curtis bio-pic resists the urge to mythologize the man or his band – Joy Division – instead turning in an entirely compelling portrait of a deeply flawed artist. Powerful stuff and not just for the soundtrack. 9.5/10

Dai Nipponjin
Todd says: Easily the winner in Japan’s battle of the manzai comics – the other half of said battle being Kitano’s Glory to the Filmmaker – this is a hysterically deadpan take on a professional kaiju battler in decline. 8.5/10

Mack says: Straight-faced humor may never be as funny. Hitoshi Matsumoto’s directorial debut smashes superhero conventions by observing his hero in a day-in-the-life setting. Though it stumbles a touch the comedic moments are timeless. 7/10

Kurt says: Deadpan has never been done as accomplished and deliberate as what is on display here. As the absurdities mount, it becomes clear that there is no way to end this movie properly, and that is the only stumbling point of an otherwise pitch-perfect cult item. 7/10

Deuxieme Souffle
Kurt says: A stylish colour-noir experiment benefits from hardboiled dialogue, a great collection of actors and bursts of vibrant violence. It is a little long, and Monica Bellucci as a blond is a tad flat. 7/10

The Devil’s Chair
Todd says: Smart, bloody, pounding fun. Proof that you don’t need much in the way of budget if you’ve got smarts and skill behind the camera. A stellar lead actor doesn’t hurt, either. 8.5/10

Mack says: Adam Mason’s sophomore effort takes the piss out of its audience and messes with conventions of the genre. I had more fun observing the shift in audience mood when Mason’s film pulled the rug out from underneath and things got deadly serious. Deadly serious. Wink. 5/10

Kurt says: Irredeemable trash. Smug. Ugly. Sadly lacking in entertainment value. After the 1999 slew of films with twisty ending this one feels warmed over. 0/10

Diary of the Dead
Michael says: George Romero Lite.

Mack says: An excellent return to Romero’s traditional form. A bit long in exegesis but punctuated by worthwhile zombie action. It may have trouble reaching a younger, faster paced audience. 7/10

Kurt says: George A. Romero is back with a goofy, funny, and gory new Dead film. It's no classic, but nevertheless hits the entertainment spot, especially with an Amish fellow called Samuel. 7/10

Dr. Plonk
Todd says: Over long and drags in places but when Rolf de Heer’s tribute to classic black and white slapstick works it REALLY works. 7 /10

Kurt says: Great concept, merely good execution Dr. Plonk could have been more if the gags were escalated rather than endlessly repeated. It's a movie of diminishing returns when it should have been building up to something on the level of Keaton or Tati's best work. 5/10

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Kurt says: Wow. A bombastic mess of a film with some of the worst musical cues heard in ages. Cate Blanchet and Clive Owen are great in the bodice ripper aspects of the film and there is a spectacular image or two in there, but otherwise a bit of a fiasco considering the talent involved! 3/10

Encarnacion
Michael says: I guess if I cared more about the character Encarnacion, I would care more about this movie. Too much hairfluffing for me.

Erik Nietzsche, The Early Years
Todd says: It’s an autobiographical Von Trier script but he’s strangely toothless here. Far too nostalgic to really work as the satire it sets out to be it ends up being just pleasantly bland. 5/10

Ex Drummer
Todd says: A tragic deconstruction of those on society’s fringes and those who use them for their own amusement. Challenging, uncomfortable and oddly poetic. 9/10

Michael says: Hailed as the "breakout hit of TIFF", this film was more just interesting and energetic. Where you didn't go along with its conventions, it bullied you. Good for the midnight crowd.

Mack says: Koen Mortier’s exploration into morality and self-suffering is as offensive, insulting and pornographic as contemporary filmmaking can be. But one cannot ignore how laden with immorality his characters are. If you leave a screening of Ex-Drummer and you don’t questions your own morality perhaps the question should be if you have any. 8/10

Kurt says: If American Psycho was lensed from inside Trainspotting's 'worst toilet in Scotland' you might end up with this picture which makes Man Bites Dog look like Lady and the Tramp. Not for the squeamish. 6/10

Exodus
Todd says: Stellar opening and closing sequences wrapped around a core that completely squanders a killer premise. The film just drifts through the main body, all of it eventually being revealed as a ninety-plus minute set up for a single joke. 5/10

Kurt says: A conspiracy of women murdering men they do not approve of? This absurdist noir piece defies expectations. There is something sly going on under its calm exterior and a second viewing is in order. The opening tracking shot is fantastic. 5/10

Flash Point
Todd says: An uneven script and a very weak character for Louis Koo keep this from hitting the true top tier of Hong Kong action films but the fight choreography is arguably the best of Donnie Yen’s career. Zowie. 7.5/10

Mack says: Donnie Yen continues to impress with bone-crunching action. Yip’s direction is good, just too bad his story isn’t up to snuff with the rest of the film. Story does matter. 8/10

Kurt says: This would be an easy 10/10 if the story was not so painfully conventional and the action nearly all in the last 25 minutes. With the incorporation Mix Martial Arts into contemporary guns and fist HK cinema, the bar has been set so high that it will be fun just to see if anyone can reach it again, let alone raise it! 7/10

Frontiere(s)
Todd says: A mish mash of moments lifted from a host of other horror pictures but executed so well and with just enough originality in the characters and with just enough politics inserted that it rises above the pack. Good, bloody fun. 8/10

Kurt says: Technically virtuoso in the same way as Aja's High Tension. But story-wise, it is derivate to all hell (excluding a batshit crazy Nazi dude). It is too long and the lead actress is more than a little spotty at times. 4/10

Fugitive Pieces
Michael says: A poetic sensibility pervades this story of a child surviving the Holocaust through the help of an older Greek man. Countenances are all lovely in this film and—though initially uplifting—it devolves into saccharine sentimentality and a failure to look both ways before crossing the street.

Glory to the Filmmaker
Todd says: The weakest film by far in Takeshi Kitano’s filmography. Starts well – though you need a good working knowledge of current Japanese film to get most of the jokes – before degenerating badly into a self referential mess. 3/10

Mack says: If Kitano looks into himself long enough he may realize he’s lost his mind. 2/10

Gone With The Woman
Todd says: Absolutely stellar in moments – basically every time Peter Stormare appears on screen – merely okay in others. Feels a bit like Amelie-lite. 6/10

Help Me, Eros
Michael says: Nothing I haven't seen before in a Tsai Ming-Liang film, except with less droll humor. The sexual calisthenics achieve interest when the bodies become branded with corporate logos.

Here Is What Is
Todd says: An inside look at a year in the life of Daniel Lanois. This will prove to be of interest mostly to fans of the man’s work but for those of us who have followed him for years this is pure gold. 8.5/10

I'm Not There
Michael says: A fascinating play on the Dylan mystique. It definitely deserves one or two more viewings. Off the hip, though, Cate Blanchett's Dylan is hypnotic and one of her best performances ever.

Inside
Todd says: Fierce, uncompromising and flawlessly put together. Riveting performances by the leads raise this one well above the level of the typical slasher. 9/10

Mack says: The one Midnight Madness film that hit it out of the park for me this year. Smartly conceived and shot, Inside is a bloody masterpiece of smart storytelling and visceral violence. I may never want to start a family. 8/10

Kurt says: Wow! Simply. Wow. The perfect merging of body horror, Hitchcock and the slasher aesthetic to make something that manages to transcend the horror genre in ways that one makes fans grin from ear to ear. Definitely not for anyone expecting a baby, or those who like to feel superior to the genre. This is a nasty little ride that offers a curious ennui after everything is done with. Let the red stuff fly. 9/10

Jar City
Todd says: Billed as a murder mystery but really more of an existential take on parental angst, the latest from Baltasar Kormakur is starkly haunting stuff. 8/10

Michael says: A well-executed police procedural that will have appeal in its North American distribution. Backtracking timeline was a bit muddy but forgiveable.

Kurt says: Intellectual, grotesque and well executed crime procedural film from Iceland which morphs into a much more interesting drama with more than one memorable image. 7/10

Joy Division
Mack says: As with the other band documentary I saw this year Joy Division has everything you could want in a comprehensive look at one of the founding voices of new music. Had I been a bigger fan of Joy Division than its current incantation New Order I likely would have appreciated it more but I have never been at a screening where the audience didn’t applaud or leave until the last credit rolled. Like the final song in the last encore of a farewell tour.

Juno
Kurt says: Sure it is Ghost World lite and obviously the product of a writer over 30 (see also Veronica Mars) but the acting and visual style of the film make it a crowd-pleaser and laughs abound if you like a main dish of quirky with a side-order of snark. 7/10

King of the Hill
Todd says: Starts off like a standard thriller before developing into something much, much more. The less you know the better, just look out for it when it hits these shores. 9.5/10

Michael says: An effectively claustrophic and suspenseful film, bifurcated in two by an unexpected twist.

Lars & The Real Girl
Michael says: This film proved to be great comic relief right when I saw it at the festival. Its outlandish premise is executed masterfully so that the viewer comes to care about this plastic doll and—of course—are heavily invested in Ryan Gosling's performance. The breakout job for me, however, was Paul Schneider as Ryan's brother.

Lust, Caution
Kurt says: Perfect in every technical category except for the fact that the film completely lacks a soul. For me it was emotionally dead. Some structural choices curiously muted much of the for tension. The graphic sex scenes just sit there preventing any deeper reading of the characters (maybe if I knew the politics better there would be something to offer) other than scrutinizing Tony Leung's scrotum. 6/10

M
Todd says: Technically astounding but so cerebral that it distances the audience rather than drawing them in to the emotional core of the piece. The style is the substance with Lee. 6.5 / 10

Mack says: Visually compelling and technically good. The rest of the movie just cannot keep up and the darker palette doesn’t bode well in a dark theatre. 4/10

Kurt says: Lee Myung-Se's avant garde visualization of how fear, anxiety and regret alter perception of both the past and the present. Shot with his usual bold style which in this case is perfectly married to the material. Its an intellectual and emotional puzzle-box where getting lost in it is more important than actually solving it. 9/10

Mad Detective
Todd says: A “small” film from Johnnie To after a string of large ones, this one anchored by a tour de force performance from Lau Ching Wan as a mentally ill detective. Smart and stylish. 8/10

Mack says: The fact that it is not up to par with To’s most previous work is not detrimental at all. It still exceeds above other films. 7/10

Kurt says: Compared to Election or Exiled, this is lesser To. However an intense Lau Ching-wan performance and wacky sense of humour of the film make it a winner. The closing set-piece seals the deal as To lays on the eye-candy in a masterful scene involving split personalities and mirrors. 7/10

Madame Tutli-Putli
Kurt says: If Salvadore Dali was giving David Lynch a shiatsu massage during an overnight train ride between Calgary and Vancouver, then this might be the film that takes place in his head. Stop Motion animation has never looked this good. 9/10

The Man From London
Michael says: Beautiful, noirish, and the most accessible of Tarr's films. It poses tension as a question of faith. It's a mere coincidence that—like No Country For Old Men—the plot revolves around a found satchel of money.

Me
Todd says: Nicely shot and performed but the film itself is every bit as adrift as its aimless lead character. 6/10

Mongol
Todd says: A true epic, the Genghis Khan bio-pic delivers on all cylinders, the only draw back being an episodic structure that breaks the flow from time to time. 8.5/10

Kurt says: As big an epic as you are going to get on screen this year. Light on action, but the chance to get into the headspace of a young Genghis Khan was a real surprise. 7/10

Mother of Tears
Kurt says: Sure it is entertaining in a loopy-funny sort of way. But I want something that would crawl up into my brain and lays eggs from Dario Argento (not knee-slapping parody). File this under expectations (my own fault!) severely unmet. 4/10

The Mourning Forest
Michael says: This acclaimed film disappointed me and I still can't quite put my finger on why its contemplation did not engage me.

Munyurangabo
Michael says: A truly unique piece of filmmaking made more complex by not being easily classifiable. The most African film I saw at TIFF though made by a Korean-American and a White guy. I'm committed to championing its distribution.

My Winnipeg
Todd says: The latest from Guy Maddin is a brilliant, bewildering, stream of consciousness ride through the city he has lived in his entire life. An absurdly funny ode to the auteur’s own roots. 9.5/10

Michael says: Brilliant, comic, wry, inventive, further solidifying the mythology of Winnepeg and Guy Maddin. Ledge Man is one of the funniest things I've ever seen and the bit about the old woman who wouldn't leave the apartment (Maddin's actual mother) a stroke of genius, along with casting Noir Queen Ann Savage as his mother. Seeing Maddin narrate this live is what cinema is all about.

Mack says: Maddin’s ode to his home town and his memories is as sleepy and dreamy as its subject. Maddin’s filmmaking style is unparalleled and his storytelling is above reproach. You may never hear the word Winnipeg uttered as many times in 80 minutes as this. Ever. 7/10

Kurt says: Guy Maddin's loopy tribute to his home town and varied nooks and crannies of his own psyche is the auteurs most accessible film to date and also the funniest – plus it contains one of creepy images I've seen all year – Frozen Horse Heads. 9/10

No Country For Old Men
Michael says: The Coen Brothers at their best and a captivating adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's lean novel. It was fascinating to see where it adhered and diverged from the book. Just the right mix of violence and black humor.

Kurt says: The Coen’s darkest picture to date by a long shot. No musical score and a whopper of a psycho from Javier Bardem give it a novel mood compared to the rest of their work. Tommy Lee Jones is the soul of the story and he delivers resigned defeat in spades. 9/10

Nocturna
Todd says: Clever concept, imaginative characters, a simple story well told and quality animation. The only major drawback is an uninspired English voice cast. 7/10

Nothing is Private
Kurt says: No movie at this years festival pissed me off more than this one. In its attempts to be transgressive, it comes of as laughable, thereby undermining a few interesting tidbits along the way. White kittens are run over and pregnant ladies fall on their stomach while many of the actors look either uncomfortable or embarrassed to exist in an up-the-ante and bombastic display of American Beauty hubris. 2/10

Todd says: Good performances and well shot but in his attempt to jam as many hot button issues into the film as humanly possible Alan Ball resorts to a sort of episodic structure that breaks any emotional connection to the characters and prevents him from dealing with any one of the issues with satisfying depth. Less would have been much, much more. 4/10

Obscene
Todd says: The film raises some interesting issues it never really elucidates but as a portrait of a man it is fascinating stuff. I just wish it went deeper into the underlying issues. 7.5/10

The Orphanage
Todd says: Frustratingly close to being a truly great film but held back by badly underdeveloped support characters. Beautifully designed and shot with some truly effective jumps. 7.5/10

Kurt says: Featuring the best Jump Scare of the past few years, a predictable, but solid story, and a central performance worthy of Nicole Kidman from The Others. A classy ghost-story that comes very close to the work of Guillermo del Toro's Spanish language films. 8/10

El Pasado
Michael says: What this movie says about the past and its influence reminds that Babenco is no longer making the films he used to and isn't that a shame? Boring, self-indulgent, and agonizingly long.

The Passage
Kurt says: A stylish set piece late in the film involving a tunnel and a flash-bulb coupled with a great lead actress and exotic location shooting is unable to save this film from falling face first onto the 'derivative' pile. It is a shame because the message of the film is a relevant one. It is probably better to watch Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things to see how this is done right. 5/10

Persepolis
Michael says: This deserves a second viewing. It's full of wonderful moments and its application of animation to these themes truly groundbreaking. It didn't quite have the political punch I wanted it to have, however.

Ping Pong Playa’
Mack says: A funny and rare Asian-American comedy. But, some of the humor felt forced and I thought it could have done without the anti-British/us and them sentiments. 5/10

Ploy
Todd says: The latest from Pen-Ek Ratanaruang plays as a sort of waking dream – disorienting, haunting and beautiful. 8.5/10

Michael says: A touch better than Invisible Waves, but, nonetheless soporific and protracted. This is the film that knocked Pen-ek off my interest list. For someone who has made good films, his poor lighting is inexcusable and dull.

Redacted
Michael says: Loud, lurid, and an adequate horror movie about Iraq.

Reservation Road
Kurt says: Fine performances cannot save this over-wrought and co-incidence laden revenge fantasy-melodrama. Any potential emotional truths or character revelations are overshadowed by the constant pandering to and manipulation of the audience. Even more bald & golden statue baiting than Nothing is Private. 5/10

Romulus, My Father
Kurt says: Gorgeously shot, but relentlessly depressing. Romulus is a shot of cough medicine for high-school students in Australia. A feel bad childhood memoir for the ages, it is guilty of wasting fine performances from Franka Potente and Eric Bana to offer little insight into the human spirit. Somehow Marton Csokas shines through the misery. 3/10

Sad Vacation
Todd says: The latest from Shinji Aoyama mines familiar territory but does so very well with strong performances all around. It does, however, overstay its welcome slightly and the closing shot is just baffling. 7.5/10

Mack says: Shinji Aoyama explores picking up the pieces of a broken life when it unexpectedly places all of them in front of you. Tadanobu Asano has all the pieces in front of him. How does the puzzle fit together? 6/10

Silent Light
Michael says: My favorite film of the festival. This is the film we've been waiting for Reygadas to make, freed from his fetishized perversities to reveal a true compassion. An incandescent piece of filmmaking.

Silent Resident
Kurt says: Yawner of a Sci-Fi picture and paranoia parable. It thinks it is too smart and too edgy for its own good. I liked it a heck of a lot better when it was called The Lost Highway. 1/10

Slingshot
Todd says: Too much, too much, too much. A day in the life of a slum neighborhood, the point would have made much better by tracking half as many characters through their day rather than leaping from character to character with every scene. As it stands there’s just no way to really invest emotionally in any of them. 5/10

Son of Rambow
Todd says: Smart, touching, creative and very, very funny. Director Garth Jennings seemed a bit overwhelmed by the large scale Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but he finds his stride nicely here. 9.5 / 10

Kurt says: Feel good nostalgia piece involving two young kids, a VHS camera and Stallone's First Blood. Meshing a plethora of (amped up) memories from growing up early 1980s with some fine child-actor performances and more than a little heart. A fun way to spend a rainy day. 7/10

Stuck
Todd says: Starts off feeling very movie-of-the-week but improves as it goes, ending up being a strangely compelling bit of work. Probably wouldn’t work at all if not for the ‘based on a real story’ angle and Stephen Rea should never be allowed to use this accent again. 7/10

Mack says: Stuart Gordon’s slant on real life events is amusing and entertaining as much as it is absurd and horrifying. I doubt it will fare well with repeat viewings and its connection to real life events may turn off some. 6/10

Kurt says: Deliberately small scale, yet engrossing tale of a man stuck in a windshield and the girl who wants the problem to just go away. Taking a real story but re-spinning it as a black comedy with more than a little gore as the cherry on top. 6/10

The Substitute
Kurt says: Top shelf visuals and a deliciously screen-chewing Paprika Steen performance are marred by a rushed (and sometimes baffling) conclusion. It felt like the film was missing a reel! 5/10

Sukiyaki Western Django
Todd says: The latest from Takeshi Miike is good, goofy fun. The phonetic English would make this a horror show without subtitles but with the subs included they lend a certain deliberate charm. Know that he’s crossed the western off his list is there anything Miike hasn’t done? 8/10

Mack says: Miike is in top form, always coloring outside of the lines. Django suffers from length and not enough Miike flare. 7/10

Kurt says: Cultural appropriation is on the menu of Takashi Miike's overstuffed eastern-western. This is a film that can occupy your brain or melt your eyes depending on your mood. Better experienced in a crowd environment and destined to become a lasting cult curio for years. 7/10

The Sun Also Rises
Mack says: Jiang Wen’s film creates magical realism in a non-linear narrative. Visually stunning and entertaining but not thoroughly engaging as I hoped. 5/10

Terra
Kurt says: The folks behind this CGI feature have the visual chops and are flush with great ideas. But the slice and dice screenplay which builds the plot out of Star Wars and other sci-fi clichés squanders everything. The (inverted) concept of a violent human invasion on peaceful race aliens deserves better. A major missed opportunity here. 2/10

They Wait
Kurt says: A too earnest and too derivate Canadian horror flick that looks great, but had little else going for it. 3/10

The Tracy Fragments
Kurt says: Avant garde editing, often involving dozens of splitscreens, meets the raw style of Bruce MacDonald’s previous road pictures. A full on performance from rising star Ellen Page seals the deal. Canadian Cinema is still willing to push boundaries. 8/10

Ulzhan
Michael says: Though a bit too long, this man's journey towards oblivion and the woman who tries to dissuade him makes for an interesting and spiritual love story.

Vexille
Mack says: The Japanese prove once again that they are untouchable when it comes to animation quality and techniques. It’s too bad that the laurels only stop there and they continue to offer films with flat stories and characters. 5/10

Todd says: A big step forward from Appleseed – which I’m a fairly big fan of – thanks to improvements on both the technical and story end. 7.5/10

Kurt says: A text book case of trying to solve acting/script problems with very loud music. In this case, the great techno from Paul Oakenfold was like oil to Vexille's water. Great Ideas, great animation, but hollow and empty story-wise. 4/10

Voyage of the Red Balloon
Michael says: A truly poetic reverie on the invisible craft behind art. Whether hidden puppeteers or the magic of green screen, the sentience of creativity and how it soothes the frenetic life.

Walk All Over Me
Kurt says: A feel-good S&M crime story does not quite all glue together, but entertains in fits and starts. Gary Burns-lite, but a nice enough start from young director Robert Cuffley and a fine performance from Leelee Sobieski. 6/10

Weirdsville
Kurt says: Veering wildly between too stylish and too goofy. Alan Moyle's low-key but densely plotted stoner flick involving murder, drugs and Satanists is more quiet smiley moments than laugh-out-loud funny ones. 6/10

The World Unseen
Michael says: Should be left unseen. Lipstick lesbians cope with the rise of apartheid. The musical score overpowers the predictable script.

You, The Living
Michael says: The audience was really enjoying this film. I hated its murky palette and its view of the human condition so I walked out, much too tired to appreciate it.

La Zona
Todd says: Pla’s story of class warfare plays all the obvious cards – you’ll see the ending coming a mile away – but it does so well. Solid on all fronts but never quite exceptional. 7.5/10

Michael says: Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers in a guarded, gated community in Mexico City.